The Center on Nutrition Communication. COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES IN NUTRITION AND HEALTH PROMOTION NUTRITION 218 Spring Semester 2015

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1 The Center on Nutrition Communication COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES IN NUTRITION AND HEALTH PROMOTION NUTRITION 218 Spring Semester 2015 Instructor: Teaching Assistant: Lindsay Tanskey Class Time: Friday 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Class Location: Jaharis 155 The overall objective of this course is to provide students with the expertise to develop effective health communications, either as standalone campaigns or as components of broader health interventions. To achieve this objective, the course includes two separate but overlapping elements. The first focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions that emphasize communication and are based on appropriate theoretical models. The second focuses on the communication tools that are critical to these interventions. The course will: 1. Explore some of the widely used theoretical bases for effective health communications. 2. Explore the development of effective communications-focused health promotion programs. 3. Provide students with: a. the ability to determine how and when to use communications strategies to influence behavior; b. the skills to develop campaign/intervention materials, including i. Selecting an appropriate theoretical framework ii. Learning how to better understand the target population iii. Choosing communication channels that are appropriate and feasible iv. Tailoring messages to the target population c. the skills to evaluate the communications component of interventions as well as specific communications materials; and d. hands-on experience in communicating health messages effectively.

2 Expectations for students include: 1. Being present for all classes and arriving on time (or notifying the instructor of extenuating circumstances); 2. Submitting all written assignments on time; 3. Completing all required readings in advance of class; 4. Participating actively in class discussions (and using computers only for note-taking or targeted searches relevant to class not for personal communications); 5. Being receptive to feedback. ASSIGNMENTS Most readings will be assigned at the beginning of the course. A small number of additional readings may be distributed as appropriate. Assigned readings will form the basis for class discussion. All course readings will be available on Trunk. Each class will begin with a brief discussion of the week s newsworthy nutrition events. Students are encouraged to subscribe to a food/nutrition listserv, such as GMA SmartBriefs ( or Food Navigator ( to inform these discussions. Over the course of the semester, students will work in groups to design a communications campaign that is a stand-alone campaign or part of a larger intervention. The proposal will include a literature review; a description of the project s rationale and specific study aims; formative research, including focus groups and/or key informant interviews; an implementation plan; an evaluation plan; and communications materials. For Assignments #2-5 and the Final Proposal, each group will electronically submit one copy to Lindsay (lindsay.tanskey@tufts.edu) by 9:00 am on the due date. For Assignment #6, your group has the option of submitting the Materials & Evaluation Plan section early for feedback before the Final Proposal due date. We will provide you feedback on the individual project components as you submit them over the course of the semester. For the final project submission, we urge you to actively incorporate changes in response to that feedback. DISTRIBUTION OF CREDIT Design and development of a campaign to influence dietary behavior. Project Components: Literature review 15% Formative research 20% Campaign design and implementation plan 20% Materials 15% Evaluation plan 15% Class participation (SmartBriefs, readings, contribution to class discussion) 15% 2

3 NOTE: Various course documents, as well as any announcements (including location changes), will be posted on the Trunk website ( Log in and, under My Courses, click on Nutrition From there, you ll be able to access documents, see announcements, etc. In case of extreme weather, we will notify you by of class cancellation by 7:30 am. Please note this syllabus is subject to revision. Week 1: Friday, January 16 th Part I. Overview of course CLASS SCHEDULE Part II. Introduction to and evolution of nutrition and health communication, This class will provide an historical context for nutrition and health communications and discuss the role of communication in promoting behavior change. Dietary Guidelines graphics will be used as examples of attempts to communicate nutrition and physical activity messages to the general public. The class will also define the key features of a communications campaign and when they should be deployed. Week 2: Friday, January 23 rd Part I. How to frame a communications campaign The GREEN Project will be used as an example. Part II. Introduction to group projects Students will hear about group project topics. Project clients Week 3: Friday, January 30 th Part I. Theory to practice and practice to theory in nutrition and health communication This class will provide students with an overview of the theories and models that are most widely used to understand and influence health behaviors at individual and environmental levels. The class will also explore the role of persuasion and fear in health communications. Part II. Identifying and understanding the target audience This session will focus on the process of identifying and understanding the target audience through literature searches, including popular literature; intercept and key informant interviews; environmental mapping; and resources assessment. Assignment #1 due: Choose group and topic of interest 3

4 Week 4: Friday, February 6 th Part I. Conducting an ideation session Lindsay Tanskey Ideation is a tool that is widely used to stimulate creative thinking. In this session, students will participate in an ideation session that focuses on the creation of a concept and overall theme for their projects. Part II. Formative research This session will describe the range of uses for focus groups, the methodology for conducting them, and the development of focus group discussion guides. It will also discuss other formative-research techniques, just as observational methods and key-informant and intercept interviews. Week 5: Monday, February 9 th (3:00 6:00 PM, Room TBD) Applying the creative process to build a campaign Thomas Vogel Emerson College This session will focus on the development and execution of a creative communications concept. Assignment #2 due (on Friday, February 13 th ): Literature reviews Week 6: Friday, February 20 th Conducting a focus group and synthesizing results Sara Folta This session will focus on key principles of moderating focus group discussions. Students will participate in a focus group discussion on a topic of interest to the group and later discuss the analysis of information obtained from focus groups. Week 7: Friday, February 27 th Social marketing Tim Edgar Emerson College This lecture will provide an overview of the basic principles of social marketing and illustrate a variety of applications. Social marketing is a tool or framework that relies on multiple scientific disciplines to create programs designed to influence human behavior on a large scale. Although social marketing has been used to address a variety of social concerns, it has been most consistently used in health promotion and disease prevention, making it an area of special interest to scholars and practitioners in health communication. Assignment #3 due: Focus group guides Week 8: Friday, March 6 th Choosing communication channels and developing campaign materials This session will focus on campaign materials, from conceptualization to design to evaluation. In-class mid-course evaluation 4

5 Week 9: Friday, March 13 th Health literacy Susan Koch-Weser The session will begin with an introduction to health literacy. Areas touched upon will include definitions, development of the field, measurement, and epidemiology. We will then shift focus to one area of health literacy, print materials. After an overview of best practices and resources for the development of low-literacy materials, we will conduct a workshop exercise evaluating and revising existing brochures. Week 10: Friday, March 20 th Spring Recess Week 11: Friday, March 27 th How do you know if it worked? Developing appropriate evaluation plans and tools. This class will focus on both process and outcome evaluation and on the use of qualitative research to understand why things turned out as they did. The session will also discuss how to find valid and reliable measurement tools and to develop and validate new ones when necessary. Finally, time will be provided for groups to discuss their progress in program design and evaluation for their final projects. Assignment #4 due: Formative research write-up Week 12: Friday, April 3 rd Working with the media Sylvia Rowe President, SR Strategies This session will focus on working with the media in getting coverage, in responding to press inquiries, and in serving as an on-camera expert. Week 13: Friday, April 10 th Overview of social media in health communications Social media have been used far more extensively by the commercial sector than by the public health community. This session will focus on what is known about the effectiveness of social media in health communication and how to consider their use in promoting positive health behaviors. Assignment #5 due: Campaign design and implementation plan Week 14: Friday, April 17 th Workshop session Students will have the opportunity to work with their project teams and to consult with the instructor. Optional assignment #6 due: Materials and evaluation plan 5

6 Week 15: Friday, April 24 th Final presentations Project clients Student groups will present their final projects and discuss what they have learned from the exercise. Final proposals due by 9:00 am on May 1,